Revised Beginning
by lil Arcturus
Summary: "Her eyes reminded the boy of smoldering embers; still radiating a gentle heat but still could hurt the boy if he wasn't careful." An AU of Akame ga kill where Tatsumi was one of the 100 kids to take the assassin test and he teams up with a Red eyed girl and her younger sister to pass. Rating might change.
1. Chapter 1

Revised Beginning

"Haa… Arg… Ha…"

*stomp, rustle, Thud*

A young boy was leaning on a withered tree; brown hair was sticking to his forehead. His green eyes were frantically scanning the surrounding forest.

"Ah… Can't stay here, gotta… keep movin"

The boy tiredly continued his journey through the woods while still looking out for dangers. Unfortunately he didn't have to look for too long before he found it. His breath hitched and he paused for a moment before pivoting around and dashing towards a different direction. The boy was letting pure instinct drive him at this point and his instinct was screaming at him to not stay near that creature, for he would surely end up dead. Sadly traversing a dense forest is not the easiest of tasks, for the ancient trees, in their effort to keep growing blocked most of the light from reaching the forest floor. Their roots also didn't give a damn where they were going; they just needed to cover as much ground as possible. These two factors lead to the boy firmly planting his face into the damp dirt.

"Aack!" He cried out.

The boy forced his arms to push body back up, he needed to move or he would die. The chill of death was seeping into his body but he refused to give up. He scrambled back up, but the sight in front of him made him want to drop down. A lone Gifnora Wolf was prowling slowly towards the boy. But the Wolf seemed more feral than the average beast. Its grey fur was matted and was splotched with blood. The mouth of the beast was pulled into a snarl and saliva was slipping out from the gaps of its spear like teeth.

He unconsciously shuffled away from the wolf; his eyes couldn't look away, because in the back of his mind he knew that if he were to look away the Wolf would immediately strike. The boy felt his back lean against something, probably a tree, and the boy didn't bother to check, for that meant looking away.

"Haha… So this is it huh…?" The boy chuckled dryly.

The boy bitterly smiled. The Gifnora wolf didn't acknowledge the words spoken; the beast just continued its path towards the boy.

"Why did it have to be this way?!" The boy choked out, closing his eyes and fists angrily. The wolf growled and started to charge at the boy. The boys mind started to wander back to past, to the events leading to his demise.

* * *

'It looks like it's might rain today' the boy glanced up at the turbulent clouds, "I should hurry…"

The boy started to jog, dodging the few people walking in the street. He was approaching his destination; an impassive stone building standing isolated from the rest of the village. The boy dashed right up to the door and went straight inside. He navigated the cold hallways of the fortress-like building and headed towards the backyard.

"Old Man! Oi, where are ya?" The boy called out once he stepped onto the desolate field. "OLD MAN!"

"Knock it off you brat! I'm trying to sleep!"

An grizzled, greying man stepped out from a wooden building at the back end of the field. His face was unkempt; stubble was growing on his chin and his hair was a greasy mess. His black shirt was wrinkled and had tears riddled throughout the material. His brown trousers were in a better state albeit dirty. (Think of ogre but fewer muscles and two eyes)

"I should beat you up right now for disturbing my beauty sleep!" The Man started trudging over to boy, rolling his neck a few times.

"No offense Old Man, but no matter what you do I think nobody will be able to look at your face longer than 10 seconds; even that is pushing it" The 'brat' shook his head condescendingly.

The old man just punched him 'lightly' on top of the boy's head; causing the boy to fall to the ground and clutch his aching skull.

"Owowowowo!" The boy was crying anime tears. "WHAT YOU DO THAT FOR YOU GEEZER!" The boy waved his fist at the adult while still rocking back and forth in pain.

"You really need to learn how to respect your betters brat; else you're just going to be in a world of pain" The man jokingly polished his knuckles across his shirt.

"Whatever, I'm here for more training not to be taught life lessons" Grumbled the boy.

The boy got up and walked back to the building where the old man was sleeping. "Are the shinai at the usual place or did you make a mess as usual?"

"Yes, in the back." The man replied.

The boy walked into the building and saw the set shinai where the man said it was. He grabbed the one he favored the most, the left most one. He then stepped into the center of a circle laid out on the dirt floor inside the building and waited for his sensei. Once the man came into the building and grabbed a shinai, both of them assumed a wide stance. Their stance and posture were almost identical, though the boy couldn't quite imitate his teacher. Then they proceeded to trade blow after blow. Both student and teacher went at each other with the intent to get the first strike, but the difference in skill and prowess was too much for the student to overcome. The man struck at the boy's subpar defense and broke through; knocking the boy off-balance. Next he unleashed a flurry of attacks at the surprised student. The match didn't even last 5 minutes.

"Ughhh… You don't have to hit me so hard you geezer…" The boy moaned, clutching his aching stomach.

"If you don't want to get hit learn how to block you amateur! The pain is a motivator!" The 'geezer' barked out, annoyed that his teachings were being put into question.

The boy bit back a few choice words, knowing that he would get a bigger beat down as a reward. He gradually got back to his feet while his instructor patiently waited for him to return to a stance. They were about to begin another match, but the door to the dojo was opened. There stood 3 men around their late 20's. Two of them looked more like a mass of muscle then human and the last one was of the thinner build. The lumps of meat in the back looked like twins, both bald and and eyes of coal. The twins just stood behind the thinner man, staring straight ahead; it reminded the old man of guard dogs, passive until given the order. The thinner man was blonde and had sickly green eyes.

"Hello, how are both of on this fine morning" The thinner one rasped out in a nasally voice. "Sorry I know you two are busy but we have business with the young man over there, he will be coming with us."

"What is this? What are you doing on my property and what do you mean you'll be taking the brat?!" The old man yelled, gesticulating crazily to show his fury.

The blonde man sighed, "I have no patience for this… Rex! Marcus! Take the boy by force!"

The recently named statues behind the man immediately went to work and dashed towards the old man.

The young boy was petrified by a combination of surprise and fear. Surprise because he was told he would be taken by random strangers, and fear because the old man, the one who was training the boy moments before was now being pummeled vehemently by the twins. The old man couldn't withstand the onslaught of the 'guard dogs' and was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

"Well, that's the end of him… hmm could have been better." The blonde man snorted.

"Sir, what should we do with the brat?" One of the twins grunted.

"Knock him out, we need him healthy enough to take the test Marcus, be gentle" The blonde man smirked and pivoted towards the door "I'll wait at the wagon, come Rex!"

"Sir!" Both twins responded, Rex marched out with 'Sir' while Marcus went to the boy.

The child hadn't move from his spot since the men got here, and didn't even noticed Marcus until he was standing in front of him.

"Sorry kid, hopefully your luck turns around soon, you're gonna need it…" Marcus sighed and shook his head, then put the boy into a choke hold.

The boy clawed frantically at the 'bear's' arms, but couldn't even phase the adult

"Ack… N-nghh…" The boy was losing consciousness; he knew he won't break free, his last thought was ' _Why is this happening_?!'

* * *

The boy awoke from his blank slumber and was surprised when he smelled the musk of decay and noticed the abundance of green around him. He immediately checked what he had on his person. But sadly, all he had was the brown cloak that he was currently wearing. Then, a slip of white fluttered out of his cloak, some letters were roughly scrawled on the square. The boy was glad the old man bothered to teach him how to read and write, else he would have been doomed if he ever decided to leave the village. He was doubly grateful to the old man because the paper simply instructed him to ' _head to the camp'._

' _Hopefully the old man is okay, I need to get back to the village'_ the boy thought.

(The reason why he is so calm is he was probably raised in a hunting village and was being taught by both the other hunters and the old man how to be calm, survive and get out of tough situations.)

"Well, this is a great; I need find where this camp is… Hopefully these trees are easy to climb." The boy muttered while looking up at the tree.

The child luckily pulled himself up the tree safely and once he broke through the crown of leaves, he was in awe with the sight. The sun was peeking from east, there were impassive mountains to the west and the camp was a speck in the distance in the north.

The boy, elated that something was going right, descended swiftly and ran north. Sadly the path wasn't as safe and clear as the boy thought it would be…

"Why did it have to be this way?!" The boy choked out, closing his eyes and fists angrily. The wolf growled and started to charge at the boy.

"HAARGH!" A scream pierced the silent forest. Next there was a muffled thud near the boy. Then silence reclaimed its place in the forest.

'W-what was that?!' The boy was absolutely shaken by the turn of events. 'Why am I not dead?' The boy opened his eyes, and was once again taken aback by what his eyes told him

The beast was dead or about to be as seen by the ever-growing pool of blood around the wolf. But on top of the animal was a young girl. Her hair was straight and barely reached past her shoulders. She was a bit shorter than the boy and her brown cloak was almost identical to his. But what really got the boy's attention were her eyes. They were red, but were not of the threatening shade. They reminded the boy of smoldering embers; still radiating a gentle heat but still could hurt the boy if he wasn't careful.

"Sis! Are you alright?! Why did you leave me?!" Then a younger girl came barreling from behind a tree and then put the red-eyed girl into a bear hug.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Your big sis won't leave so soon Kurome!" The longer haired sister patted her sister's head gently.

"But you just did!" Retorted Kurome

"Ahh… well… I didn't want someone to die if I could help it…" The older girl softly said.

"Just don't do it again… Hey you!" She stabbed her finger at the boy "You should be thanking my big sis for saving you! She risked her life you know!"

The boy stared at the duo a bit longer, and then his brain registered what Kurome said.

"Thank you so much! I'm really glad you decided to help me. If you didn't…" The boy ran his hand through his hair and shuddered. "Can I have your names? I would like to know who saved me." The boy gave a weak smile, still shaken up.

"Yes, my name is Kurome and this," She stepped back a bit from her sister. The boy finally got a good look at Kurome. Her Smokey black hair was the same as her sisters, but it was shorter; reaching just to her chin. "This is my favorite sister, Akame!" She flashed a radiant smiled at the both of them, causing them to smile as well. "So what's your name stranger?"

"Oh almost to forgot, my name is- What was that?" The boy twisted around.

Howls could be heard in the distance behind the boy.

"I'll give you my name later but first we should get away from here, the Gifnoras can smell the blood around here. Follow me!"

The boy ran in the direction of the camp. The girls hesitated a bit, but they knew they didn't have a choice, so they both nodded to each other and ran after the boy.

* * *

After trekking through the forest at a frantic pace for what seemed like an eternity, they collapsed at a clearing.

"I think… we out ran… them…" The boy managed to pant out, desperately to give his body oxygen. "It should be safe… here."

The two sisters didn't seem to be faring better but nodded and tried to regain their breath. After a few minutes recovering, the boy noticed the encroaching darkness.

" I think we should stay here, I don't feel like tripping over roots because of the dark." The boy stated, looking at the girls to see if they approved.

The sisters looked at one another, seemingly having a conversation with their eyes, then after a moment they turned back to the boy and nodded.

"Great! It's getting cold so I'll go grab some wood for a small fire ok?" The boy moved to go collect some tinder but was stopped by Kurome's voice.

"Hey, wait a minute; we still didn't get your name!" Kurome huffed and crossed her arms.

The boy paused, his eyes widening, then chuckled. "You're right, sorry, my name's Tatsumi, I hope we'll get through this together." Tatsumi smiled boyishly and offered both of his hands to the sisters.

Akame and Kurome laughed and shook his hands. Then Akame said "Okay, Tatsumi, let's work together."

To be continued

Disclaimer, don't own Akame ga kill.

 **AN: Hope this will get good reviews, I'm looking for criticism on the content of this chapter more than the technical aspects but feel free to point out any and all mistakes I made. I'm working on the next chapter after this is posted so see you guys next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

Revised Beginning Chapter 2

"Argh… wha…?" Tatsumi groaned, stubbornly clinging to his sleep. "What's goin' on?"

Tatsumi groggily attempted to rise up but something or rather, two somethings, were weighing down his arms. The boy, puzzled, glanced at the two bulks on his arms and was left in bewilderment when his brain finally decided to process the info. Akame and Kurome were both clutching arms and didn't seem like that they wanted to let go. Akame was sleeping on side and just had one arm hooked around his elbow and was laying straighter then her younger sister. Kurome curled around his entire arm like a body pillow.

' _Whatwhatwhatwhatwhaaaaa_!' Tatsumi was screaming mentally, but reigned himself in. _'You're a man Tatsumi, get a grip! Stop panicking and think! How the heck am I going to get out of here without waking them up?!_ ' Tatsumi was frantically scraping his mind for a way out and luckily, Tatsumi was able to swiftly extract his body from the potentially lethal trap.

' _NICE! I have got to be an ultra-expert, awesome, butt-kicking ninja after that!'_ Tatsumi felt like he deserved a round of self-appraising after that fiasco. _'Still, I wonder how they get me tangled up in that mess.'_

The self-claimed ninja thought about the events before he went to bed. He remembered gathering an abundant amount of wood near the borders of the clearing, and the two sisters went to gather some berries that Tatsumi told him were edible. After all three of them had gathered an acceptable amount of supplies they rendezvoused back at the clearing.

"Hey, where are the berries?" Tatsumi, expecting at least a cloak-full of berries, looked up and down at the siblings, trying to find the berries.

"U-um… we just couldn't find any… It's dark so we couldn't see anything." Akame bashfully looked downward and replied weakly.

'Y-yah! Don't be mad at me and Akame for eating the Berries on the way here, they were delicious!" Kurome blurted out, then she realized her blunder, her face reddened and she covered her mouth with a gasp.

"So you ate all of the berries… Are there any nearby bushes that you didn't pick?" Tatsumi asked hopefully, but deep down he knew the answer.

"No…"

"Nope!"

The siblings replied in unison. Silence reigned in the forest for a moment but Tatsumi's voice broke through.

"Noooooooo… But I'm so hungry…" Tatsumi feeble voice was scarcely heard by Akame and Kurome. The boy's posture was hunched over in defeat and his cowlick fell down in front of his face.

"We're really sorry Tatsumi! Here we can go look for more" Akame offered in a desperate attempt to cheer up the boy.

"That would be nice… but… you should just stay here, it's getting dark." Tatsumi sighed and straightened his posture. He turned to start the fire but Akame asked him a question.

"You're not mad Tatsumi?" Akame fearfully called out from behind him. She was astonished at his self-control, if it were her, she would be really upset.

"Nah… I'm not angry anymore… My old man told me that if I'm to do anything in life, it's to treat girls right or he would kick my butt." Tatsumi exhaled loudly "Just… Please leave me a couple berries next time, alright?"

"Wellllllllll, I think me and sis can make an exception for you Tatsumi, just because you asked so nicely~" Kurome smiled teasingly and Akame bobbed her head in agreement.

Tatsumi shook his head "Well if you put it like that, I can't really stay mad, now can I?"

"You should be grateful that we even apologized, you idiot! Those berries were really delicious!" Kurome looked at the boy disapprovingly.

"WELL I WOUDN"T KNOW BECAUSE YOU ATE THEM ALL!" Tatsumi retaliated in kind to Kurome's attack.

Akame just looked between her sister and Tatsumi, laughing at their argument, but not knowing which side she should take, so she kept silent.

After a minute or two Akame firmly told them to 'knock it off' and reminded them that it was getting dark, so Tatsumi should start the fire. Tatsumi and her sister both resembled deer caught in a headlight. They returned to their respective duties in humiliation.

After the fire was started, Kurome said that she wanted to sleep now. She gave a large yawn and her eyes were drooping. The other two were in agreement, all the running had exhausted all the energy that young children usually possessed .But Tatsumi wondered how they were going to sleep, he usually slept alone in his own hut the old man built for him, so this was an abnormal situation for him to be in.

"I think that we should sleep next to each other, this way we can keep each other warm. Also we should sleep away from the fire because it might get windy and one of the embers might start a fire near us." Akame offered her opinion and Kurome said that she was fine with anything her sister wanted to do.

"So you girls wouldn't mind me sleeping near you?" Tatsumi was surprised and secretly pleased, the girls were very practical and not fussy like he thought most girls to be.

"Why would we be? It's just sleeping after all." Akame said innocently, not knowing the adult implications of sleeping near a man.

"Your right, there's nothing wrong. Let's go to sleep, I'm beat." Tatsumi stretched his right arm above his head and yawned audibly. Both sisters were eager to go to bed and followed him to a rather comfortable patch of grass.

"Gnight guys" Tatsumi mumbled out, sleep already taking him

"Goodnight Tatsumi" Akame replied

"'Night" Kurome yawned.

* * *

' _So that's how it happened'_ Tatsumi smiled wistfully ' _BUT MAN IM SO HUNGRYY!_ ' His stomach howled, begging Tatsumi to consume SOMETHING. _'Awww, shoot! With any luck Akame and Kurome missed some berries or this day isn't gonna be a good one!'_

Tatsumi instantly ran for some of the nearby berry bushes he saw while searching for some tinder. Fortunately Tatsumi had managed to scrounge up a handful of berries that the sisters missed last night.

"Wow! These are good; no wonder the girls ate them all, I wish I could pack some for later on!" Tatsumi enthusiastically scarfed down the juicy berries, relishing the feeling of having a full belly in the morning.

"Whew! Thank god for berries, but I should probably get back, wouldn't want to worry those two…" Tatsumi shuddered at the thought of what would Kurome do if he angered her, not to mention her older sister.

Tatsumi tore towards the clearing, already memorized the way back. In a few minutes he arrived at the clearing and was glad that the siblings were still sound slumbering on the ground. They both held each other in replacement of the boy. Tatsumi would have found it quite adorable if he was older, but he still had issues with girls or other children in general, so he just settled on climbing another tree to see if they were near the camp.

Scaling the tree was oddly easier the second time, allowing Tatsumi to rapidly climbed the lanky tree. When he breached the layer of leaves, he committed to memory the lay out of the remaining forest. There were some clearings on the way; Tatsumi thought that they could camp in those clearings if they got held up for some reason. But the camp was less than a day away so they shouldn't have any need for those clearings, though it was always better to be prepared than caught off guard. Then Tatsumi noticed that a line of trees were missing from the forest, it was also in the way of the camp.

"That's probably a river or a canyon of some sort… I hope it's not too deep because we can't go around that line, it stretches on forever." Tatsumi was rather nervous of the obstacle ahead but was jarred out of his planning when a voice called out to him.

"What did you say Tatsumi?" The leaves rustled for a bit, and then Akame's head popped out of the crown of leaves. She shook her head rigorously to get rid of the leaves on top of her head.

"Err, its about that line of missing trees over there." Tatsumi gestured to what he was talking about "Also, how did you get up here?"

"I climbed up here," Akame calmly stated, and looked at Tatsumi curiously, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She then followed the direction of Tatsumi's finger. "Ah, I saw what you're talking about! I think that's either a river or a valley, but I can't say for sure." Akame pouted at the end.

"No, uh… what I meant was… Never mind…" Tatsumi voice trailed off, but before the atmosphere got awkward, he recovered "I agree with you, it's probably water or a canyon, both are going to be hard to get across if they're really deep."

"Your right, but there's nothing we can do until we get there, so let's just stop worrying about it" Akame sagely advised. She was now just gazing at the landscape in front of her.

Tatsumi on the other hand was observing Akame. He didn't get a chance to really observe her earlier; he was more focused on surviving and trying to get out of the forest. Her ink-black hair was still straight and fluttering in the breeze, even after sleeping on the ground and climbing up a tree. Her cream white skin was highlighted due to the russet colored cloak she was wearing. The light glittered and glinted around in her eyes, which Tatsumi compared them to a polished ruby he once saw on a ring of a merchant that regularly came stopped at his village.

"What a nice view…" Tatsumi unconsciously voiced his thoughts, entranced by her beauty.

"Yeah, the trees here are really tall so you get to see a lot. I wish I could just look around for a bit longer" She gave off a closed-mouth smile, still staring at the scenery. "But, we should climb back down, before Kurome wakes up." She said while looking at me, and then disappeared beneath the canopy.

"Hey, wait for me!" Tatsumi wildly dove after her, not wanting to be left behind.

When they reached the floor ( _Surprisingly at the same time_ ), they saw that Kurome was rousing from her sleep. As the younger sibling rubbed the sleep from her eyes, Akame greeted her.

"Hey sis… How was your sleep?" Akame gently asked. She walked over to where her sister was sitting and crouched beside her and stroked her back softly.

"Sis…? Ugh… Need more sleep… 10 more minutes" The younger sibling moaned, failing to resisting the urge to fall back to sleep

"C'mon, we need to get moving so we get out of this forest. You do want to stop getting chased by wolfs right?" Akame coolly reasoned with her drowsy sister.

"ARGG! Just… give me a minute." Kurome groaned loudly, shrugged off her sister and continued to rub her eyes.

Akame just smiled faintly and walked back to where Tatsumi was mutely standing.

"She's not a mornin person huh?" Tatsumi grinned cheekily, putting his hands on his hips.

"Yes, she's cranky in the morning, but she just needs a few minutes to get back to her normal self" Tatsumi's smile was infectious and Akame couldn't help but smile back.

"We should really hurry though, if we leave soon, we might be able to get to the camp before it gets dark"

"Sure, let's hope that nothing too crazy bothers us on the way there." Akame said agreeably

"What the worst that can happen?" Tatsumi ignorantly asked the ultimate forbidden phrase. He didn't know that just by uttering that simple phrase doomed his hopes of an uneventful journey to the camp.

* * *

' _Hey, that wasn't too bad! I was right, what could possibly go wrong?_ ' Tatsumi thought optimistically.

They had left the clearing about 3 hours ago, the first two and a half hours were just full of lackluster traveling. They took breaks once in a while but they mostly trekked through the forest uninterrupted. But during one of those breaks, Tatsumi decided to check their location, so once again he scaled the only vantage point there was: a tree.

' _I think I've been climbing trees way too much, my palms feel like I got a shinai jammed into my palms 100 times_.' Tatsumi complained in his head.

Once he got to the top, he saw that they were at the mysterious line of missing trees; he also noticed that the camp was just a couple more hours of traveling left.

The boy sighed "Thank god that it's almost over, traveling sucks…"

The boy just wanted to get to this camp ASAP, so he descended the tree and ran back to the two siblings.

"Whatcha see up there Tatsumi" Kurome curiously questioned, her head tilting a bit.

"Well you weren't awake for this, but when I woke up I climbed one of the tree around the clearing where we slept, and I saw that there was break in the forest. Well we're just in front of the break and I was planning on checking out what it is." Tatsumi described his plan to his companions.

"That sounds like a good idea, let's get going." Akame took the reins of the operation and lead her group towards the break.

What they saw severely disappointed them. It was just a tranquil stream, rather wide, but very shallow and flowing languidly.

They had crossed the body of water with little trouble. Tatsumi noted that the rocks were smooth under his feet, thinking that if he had the time, he would come back and relax and the edge of the stream. The light that fell onto the water glistened and glittered on the surface.

"Well, this sucks, I was imagining it to be a crazy river, or a suuuuper deep crack in the ground, this…. This is kind lame…" Tatsumi shook his head in disapproval and sighed. The brook was already a ways behind them.

"Oh, stop being so annoying Tatsumi! If it were those things it would be really dangerous to try to get over them, and you said that the camp was just over this stream!" Kurome was so infuriated at Tatsumi she cocked back her left arm and smashed it into the back of his head.

"OWOWOWOW! K-K-KUROME! Why did you do that for?!" The back of his head and Kurome's fist were both smoldering. Tatsumi was crouched on the ground, clutching his injured head and sobbing comically.

"THAT's what you get for being a huge idiot, and another thi-!" Kurome's scolding was interrupted by a harsh shriek. All three of them turned towards the direction of the sound. Then another yell cut through what was a silent forest.

"Guys, I think we should check that out, Come on follow me!" Tatsumi instantly recovered from his 'injury' and was already dashing towards the sounds of distress. Akame and Kurome stood there stunned for a moment, but regained their senses and caught up the boy.

After a bit of running "I think this is where we heard the yells but I don't see any thi-." Tatsumi was interrupted by a cloud of dust erupting a few meters to his right.

"Wha-what is that!?" Kurome stuttered out and she cowered behind her bigger sister.

"That's a Centipede… a very aggressive insect that usually hunts bugs, but now… I think it can start looking for bigger meals..." The last part was mumbled quietly to not distress his companions.

The centipede swayed back in forth for a moment but then charged off into the direction of the screams. Tatsumi connected the dots, and barely resisted the urge to throw up. He visibly blanched and leaned on a tree to keep him from falling.

"Tatsumi! Are you alright? What's wrong?" Akame worriedly rushed over to Tatsumi's hunched form. She looked like she wanted to comfort him but didn't know just how to do so.

Tatsumi panted "Yeah I'm fine… just… gimme a second" The boy tried to rein in his breathing but to no avail.

"Hey, you look sick; we should get out of her and get to someplace where we can rest." Kurome restlessly said behind her sister. She was fidgeting with Akame's cloak but she looked at Tatsumi with concern.

"No… I need… to stop those things…" Tatsumi ground out, forcibly trying to quell his turbulent stomach. "Akame can you please give me your knife?" He extended his hand out towards the girl and motioned for her to hand him the blade.

Akame was stunned into silence, not saying for a few moments, but she snapped out of her daze and said "T-T-Tatsumi?! What are you saying?" She was still in a state of confusion because of Tatsumi's words.

"Yeah, what do you mean 'Stop those things'? Didn't you notice how huge they were?!" Kurome rapidly backed up her sister "We should just leave! We can't fight those things, but we can go around them and get to the camp!" Kurome's fearfulness disappeared and was replaced by simple logic.

Tatsumi shook his head slowly and pushed off the tree he was leaning on, "But we can't just leave them! We should go help them, they're in danger!" Tatsumi pigheadedly retorted. His face was contorted into a grim scowl, not giving up any ground.

"Tatsumi… Kurome is right; we shouldn't risk our life for people we don't know…" Akame tried to coax the boy from throwing away his life, her worried eyes pleaded from him to listen to reason. But Tatsumi wouldn't have it.

"But you did it for me!" Tatsumi fired back.

"That's because it was just one wolf, Tatsumi. But there is going to be a lot more of those things if you try to stop them. Plus I'm not risking Kurome's life on a whim." Akame grimly stated.

Tatsumi ground his teeth harshly, and clenched his fist in obvious frustration. His body trembled and his breathing was uneven. His hair covered his eyes and he hung his head down.

"Tatsumi… we should go..." Akame softly whispered, and moved to grab him. Her hand was a few centimeters from his shoulders, but she jolted it back when abruptly looked at her

"No…I can't accept that! If lives are in danger and I can help, I will! Those kids were just like me, and I don't want anyone else feeling that hopelessness. You don't have to come… I wouldn't ask you to leave Kurome; I know you love her a lot. But please, help me help them! Please trust in me, I'll stop those monsters and come back before it gets dark. Just wait for me in a clearing, there's one over there." He pointed towards his left. "Please Akame, Kurome, I'm begging you!"

Tatsumi shut his eyes once more and bowed deeply, imploring for the girls to help him.

"…" Both sisters were shocked once again, not expecting Tatsumi to be so obstinate on this matter. They both felt that he was a fairly logically person, and thought that he would listen to them on this one. The moments of silence stretched on for a moment, but Akame was the one to speak up.

"… Okay Tatsumi, you win… Just… Promise us that you'll come back to us, no matter what" Akame softly relented and produced her knife from her cloak. She held it out in front of Tatsumi and smiled angelically. Deep down she knew he wouldn't stop trying to save those kids, so she wanted to give him as much aid as possible.

Tatsumi lifted his head and gazed at Akame. Then he smiled gratefully. "Now I have no choice but to come back, don't worry guys, just wait for me!" Tatsumi forced himself to say bravely, he didn't want them to think he was terrified. He then pivoted around and raced after the centipede, leaving the two sisters.

"… Sis… do you think he'll really come back?" Kurome nervously asked, after she couldn't see Tatsumi through the forest.

"Don't worry Kurome, he promised us. All we have to do now, is trust him." She wrapped her arm around her sisters shoulders reassuringly "Come on, let's go to that clearing Tatsumi was talking about and wait for him there."

"Okay…" The younger sister didn't protest, allowing her sister to guide her.

' _Please come back safe Tatsumi_ …' The thought was unnecessary though, Akame was confident he would return, He did promise after all.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own AGK.**

 **AN:** **Holy moly guys! 9 follows and favorites and 7 reviews! I wasn't expecting too many people to see this story but those reviews are making me pumped up! I hope you guys enjoyed this chap, it was kind of headache for me.**

 **I tried to have the scene of Tatsumi wanting to save the other kids as reasonable as possible, but I think I did a decent job. Let me know what you guys think of Akame's acceptance and that scene all together; it will help me a lot.**

 **Sentinel07, DemonFoxBK201, godbob111, , Ahour, Luna and Fatshadow1; Thank you for giving this story a shot and have the time to actually review! Keep this up and I'm tempted to get started on the next chapter XD**.

 **Also since a majority of the people asked me if Kurome was going to be separated or not. The answer is yes, she will be. The reason why is because, she still relied on her sister and on Tatsumi. She didn't do much. But that doesn't mean that she'll be ignored, I'm going to get the group back together in future chapters. So look out for those : ).**

 **Shootingmavi.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Revised Beginning Chapter 3**_

His surroundings were a flying by, the trees and bushes morphed into a greying blur. His adolescent legs were carrying his body forward at a break-neck pace; his feet barely feeling the coarse dirt diving into his soles. His lungs were over-clocked and pushed to their limits, desperately trying to replace the air he was exhaling out.

 _'I can make it! Just a little further... Please body, don't make me late!_ ' Tatsumi was surprised he could think clearly, already in the process of making a plan to defeat those overgrown insects. He wondered why his previous fright and hesitation was replaced with steely bravado. But he already had his as answer…

' _You idiot, don't smile at me like that... Now I have to try twice as hard..._ ' The boy smiled reminiscently, but shook his head to focus his thoughts. _'Focus! First, make a plan of attack. Next, attack!_ ' The boy thought plainly. He really was a straight forward type of guy at heart.

He saw that it was getting brighter in front of him and slowed down his approach. He then took cover behind a gnarled trunk of a tree and caught his breath. After recouping, he peeked from behind his cover and scouted up ahead. His heart paused its rapid beating for a second.

Five children were unconscious and were sprawled out on the ground a few meters apart, but that wasn't what made him nervous. Three giant centipedes were leisurely slithering towards the helpless kids.

'...!' Tatsumi quickly sprung from his position and dashed to a tree that was closer to the outskirts of the clearing. He then ascended the wiry tree, taking the utmost care to not alert the centipedes.

Tatsumi, drawing from his lessons from some of the hunters in his village, knew that centipedes used their sensitive body to detect tremors in the ground. They lacked any organs to detect smell and sight so they used their sense of touch to hunt down their pray. But their high sensitivity to touch and therefore vibrations, was eliminated by the fact that trees don't shake as much as the ground.

Luckily for the wannabe hero, the trees were in close proximity of one another, so this made traversing the branches of the trees very doable. Another boon for the boy, the group of children was near the trees bordering the clearing so Tatsumi could attack the centipedes when they neared the kids. He hopped from branch to branch with an easiness that made it seemed like he's done this multiple times in the past. He was nearly in position but sadly he slightly misjudged both his and the centipedes speed.

The insects had closed in on their meal and the leftmost one, seemingly eager to 'dig in', reared back its body to snap at one of the prone bodies. But Tatsumi wasn't as close as he would like to be to save them. He was still out of position to safely execute his attack.

' _No_!' The boy refused to fail in saving everyone; he tensed his quads for an instant and then leaped from his perch.

Luckily the boy underestimated how far he could really jump and safely landed on the insect's head, just as it was to go in for the kill

He swiftly pulled Akame's knife and held it above his head. The centipede did not appreciate Tatsumi being on its head, and savagely shook its body in an attempt to remove the foreign object. The boy predicted such a reaction and had already wrapped his legs around the creature's neck. He then gathered strength into his arms, and plunged the dagger into the Danger beast's head. The insect would've howled in agony if it could, instead it redoubled its effort of shrugging Tatsumi off.

Tatsumi knew he could only hold on for a few more moments, so he pulled out the blade and jammed it back in repeatedly. Then the insect stilled, succumbing to the wounds it received. Tatsumi reacted quickly, untangling himself from the insect and stood up. He headed turned toward the other centipedes, they hadn't made a move toward the group of children. Instead they had turned their head towards the centipede Tatsumi was on, as if wondering what was happening to their companion.

Tatsumi seized the opportunity and leaped off of the corpse, holding the blade above his head. Using the Kinetic Energy he had built up from his fall, he embedded the knife up to the handle into the head of the second centipede, killing it instantly.

The third, it seemed, sensed something was definitely going on. It had felt the first centipede fall to the ground with a loud thud and now it started snapping its mandibles erratically, as if distressed and unsure what to do.

Then Tatsumi did the unthinkable. He leaped straight into the Dangers Beast's maw. But he wasn't suicidal; the mandibles are only dangerous when they are opened. So Tatsumi timed his jump when the centipede was in the process of closing its mandibles. Tatsumi then passed through the gap created by the beast when it started to open its mandibles again.

He bodily crashed into the centipedes 'face' and scrambled on top of its head unscathed. He raised his arms once more. He screamed out a war cry and stabbed downward with all the might his young body could muster.

The boy remained on the beast's head, even as it flopped down on to the ground with a thud. He sat upon the carcass' head for a bit, panting exhaustedly. But then the adrenaline flowed out of him and the urge to throw up overwhelmed the boy.

 _'I wanted to taste those berries again, but this is not how i thought it would go..._ ' Tatsumi wiped the remaining bile from his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he slid off the deceased centipede and walked slowly to the group of children. The strange thing was though, they were no longer unconscious.

They had huddled together near the base of an old tree. "Hey guys, you alright? I'm glad I got here on time ." Tatsumi flashed a toothy grin, but he was shocked when the children finally reacted.

"H-h-ow did you do that?!" A sandy- blonde haired boy asked incredulously, pointing a thin, amber colored finger at him

"Y-yeah! Those things were crazy strong, there's no way some kid can beat three!"

A girl spoke up this time; she was of a shorter build than Tatsumi and her knotted tresses were similar to the thatch roofs back in his village. The other children were too busy cowering to speak up, but none the less were afraid of their 'hero'.

"I just… snuck up on them…Nothing too special…" Tatsumi numbly said, not expecting to be scorned as a reward for his heroics.

"No way! When I woke up, I barely saw you take down those centipedes! You were just a blur, and it just took you minutes to kill those monsters!" The boy's eyes displayed his fear clearly to Tatsumi and were shared with the rest of the group. "G-Get away from us! You have to be some kind of monster!"

The blonde-haired boy scrambled up and scurried away from Tatsumi. The other children followed his example and frantically sprinted out of the clearing. Their hero didn't attempt to stop them; the numbness had spread to his legs. His eyes were gazing in the direction the children had fled, but he couldn't 'see' anything through his daze.

"FINE THEN! I HOPE YOU GET LOST FOREVER!" Hot tears streamed out of his burning eyes and the hero clamped his teeth so intensely they had almost cracked under the pressure. His legs collapsed and he crumpled to the ground. "I JUST SAVED YOUR LIVES!" He punched the earth as hard as he could, surprisingly indenting the ground slightly.

"Fine…" The broken hero whispered, not acknowledging the faint screams of agony in the distance…

* * *

' _He should be back soon… It's getting dark'_ The young girl worriedly peered into the dusky woods, hoping to see a toffee colored cowlick or bottle green eyes to appear out of the darkness.

She and Kurome had arrived at the clearing Tatsumi had mentioned hours ago. They were planning to just sit at the clearing, waiting for Tatsumi. But they were both famished and their stomachs rumbled in chorus, so they tracked down the berries they had for dinner last night and managed to retrieve an abundance of fruit. They had so much that the sisters had to use their cloaks as makeshift baskets to carry all the food they had picked.

When they returned to the clearing with their harvest, they divided up their portions evenly between one another and were about to wolf down their meal, but Akame interrupted the feast.

"Hold on, Kurome!" She held her out her arms in the universal 'Stop!' gesture.

"What?!" Kurome already had a berry in her hand, and was ready to pop it into her mouth before Akame had interrupted her.

"We should save some for Tatsumi! He's probably hungry too!" Akame argued

"But Why?!These berries are really good…" Kurome ogled her berry in obvious longing.

"But we promised!" The oldest sibling protested, "You can't break a promise!" Akame's right index finger was raised in the air, similar to a dog owner scolding a puppy.

"B-b-but… They're so juicy!" Kurome groaned complainingly, but was silenced by her sister's disapproving glare. "Fine…" Kurome relented and set aside a paltry amount of berries. "The rest are mine though!"

Akame buoyantly beamed, nodded and added a portion of her berries to Tatsumi's small pile. "Alright now we can eat!" She began shoveling berries into her maw and Kurome mirrored her sister.

Once they ate their fill, they sat contently on a patch of particularly soft grass. They leaned on each other, basking in the presence of one another. After a while though, Kurome started to shiver.

"Kurome, are you okay? Are you cold?" Akame worriedly questioned her sister.

"Yeah, it's freezing… Can you start a fire?" The youngest asked hopefully. Kurome tightly clutched her cloak and suppressed another quiver.

So Akame dashed around the clearing, picking up the fire wood that was scattered around the forest floor; she had observed Tatsumi when he was starting a fire and had a vague idea of what to do. Fortunately she replicated Tatsumi's method well enough to ignite the wood and she and her sister huddled around the crackling fire.

"Thanks sis… It's so warm… I think… Ill …close my eyes… for a while…" Kurome mumbled lowly and rested on her older sister's shoulder.

"…Good night Kurome, sleep tight" She turned slightly and pecked the crown of her sister's head. She couldn't see it, but Kurome smiled sweetly.

Turning away from her little sister, the young girl worriedly peered into the dusky woods, hoping to see a toffee colored cowlick or bottle green eyes to appear. ' _He should be back soon… It's getting dark.'_ Akame tried valiantly to stay alert, but the satisfying feeling of a full stomach and the warmth from the fire in front of her, were almost too much. A rustling coming from her left startled her from her drowsiness.

She carefully lowered her snoozing sister to the grass, and then walked toward the origin of the sound. "Tatsumi?" The girl lowly called out, trying to force her eyes to try to see through the dark. "Tatsumi?"

"Hey Akame…" Tatsumi sluggishly shuffled out from the darkness and towards Akame. "Sorry I'm late…" The boy smiled apologetically, but it never reached his eyes.

The girl was so elated to see that her friend had come back safely she swiftly pulled the boy into a hug. "Are you alright?!" She embraced him firmly, as if to reassure herself that he was really here.

"I'm fine… Really I am." Tatsumi returned the hug and let out a laugh, but something about his laugh seemed hollow to Akame

"Tatsumi… What really happened?" Akame disengaged from the hug and looked at Tatsumi's eyes. They were no longer the vibrant bottle green that she was searching for moments before. They now looked smoky and dull, as if he was in a stupor; His eyes now resembled a sickly shade of green.

Tatsumi didn't answer, apparently not hearing Akame's question. This irritated the girl immensely but didn't let her emotions run wild. She shook Tatsumi and asked if he was alright once again. The foggy aspect of his eyes dissipated slightly and the sharpness began to return.

He gazed into her eyes. They were like a blazing fire, harmless for now, but if he added any more fuel; the fire would get out of control and burn him.

"…They ran away…" Tatsumi relented under the onslaught of Akame's gaze and tilted his head downward. "I saved them… I thought they would be happy, but they just yelled at me and called me a monster." The boy's body started to tremble and his eyes were starting to sting once again. "Maybe I shoulda left them alone…" The boy managed to say through gritted teeth, forcing his body to not break down in front of Akame.

A slap echoed throughout the dimly lit clearing. Tatsumi's right cheek was burning, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Tatsumi how could you say that!" Akame heatedly said "Never say that again, because that's going against who you are Tatsumi! You're somebody who'll try to save everybody! You can't save everybody if you just leave people alone, so please promise me! Promise that you'll never change, promise me that you'll stay you…" She then buried her face into his chest and began to sob.

"…" Tatsumi was overwhelmed by Akame's speech and scarcely felt the growing patch of water on his cloak. But he shook his head and wrapped his arms around Akame's back.

"T-T-T -Tatsumi?" Akame stuttered out, her face reddening in embarrassment. She tried to squirm out of the boy's grip but to no avail.

"…I promise. I promise to keep trying to save and protect people, especially you and your sister… I'm sorry I made you cry too…The old man would kill me if he found out…" Tatsumi chuckled wryly

It was Akame's turn to be surprised, but she recovered quickly and stopped resisting the hug. "Okay… you promised… You can't break promises." Her voice was muffled by his chest, but the boy could hear her clearly.

"Yup, that's right!" The boy grinned boyishly "But let's go to sleep, I'm tired." A wave of exhaustion suddenly swept throughout the boy's body.

Akame just nodded and she untangled herself from the hug. "Okay…" She softly replied. She too was feeling drowsy, yawning she pivoted around.

They both walked toward where Kurome was sleeping, Tatsumi laid down on the right side of the slumbering girl and Akame rested her body off to Tatsumi's right. It was a replica of their sleeping arrangements from yesterday.

"Good night." They both said simultaneously. But they were both too tired to get worked up about it and said nothing else.

As they were both about to go to sleep, Akame suddenly remembered something, ' _Tatsumi didn't eat the berries we left for him…'_ but sleep had already taken her before she could finish her thought.

 _ **To be continued.**_

 **An: DONE! Whew, I got so distracted by the end but boom Chapter done. Hopefully this chapter didnt feel too short for you guys TAT.**

 **So I got 6 reviews from mostly new people and some returning viewers so thats great! Thank you for taking the time to review: Personas, godbob111, The Rouge Captain, Sentinal07, DemonFoxBK201 and an unnamed but equally important reviewer. Also can I ask something from you readers out there? Can you guys review that last conversation with Akame and Tatsumi and also that fight scene? I like them, but I would like other opinions. Also lemme know any mistakes you you see. Anyway, stay classy~**

 **Shootingmavi**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Revised Beginning 4_**

 _He was back in the forest again,_ _his surroundings were flying by, the trees and bushes morphed into a greying blur. His adolescent legs were carrying his body forward at a break-neck pace; his feet barely feeling the coarse dirt diving into his soles. His lungs were over-clocked and pushed to their limits, desperately trying to replace the air he was exhaling out._

 _Yet it was somehow different. His legs ached more intensely, and his breath came out more raggedly._

 _'I can make it! Just a little further... Please body, don't make me late!' Tatsumi thoughts were muddled and he thought the trees were nearly triple in number. He even collided with a tree which he swore wasn't there before. But he had no time to lie down on the ground; he clambered back up to his feet and continued to sprint to his destination. He marveled at how distracted he was and wondered where his earlier state of clarity had gone. But he already had his answer…_

 _He had arrived at his destination, but moments later he instantly wanted to be anywhere else but there. The clearing was layered in blood, the liquid rising to about his ankles. Then suddenly his legs robotically shuffled forward. The boy panically willed his limbs to obey him, but they refused to listen. They sluggishly carried the boy's body towards the other side of the clearing._

 _Then his toes brushed beside something unpleasant. The boy tilted his head downward and saw a severed arm. Bile tried to escape his mouth, but his lips were clamped shut. His legs continued its path to the other side of the clearing. As he got closer to his 'destination', the more detached limbs he came across; An arm here, a leg there, and gallons of blood everywhere._

' _S-s-stop! Why can't I stop!' He wished his legs would stop moving, but he was unable to stop himself. But he should've been more careful of what he wished for…_

'… _No… I wasn't in time…!' Whatever force that was driving him to this scene finally left his body, but the boy's strength had escaped as well. His legs crumbled beneath him, and he splashed into the sea of crimson._

 _In front of him lay a gruesome scene. Two female corpses were sprawled out on the ground; their raven-black hair was floating on the surface of the layer of liquid. They looked very similar; both around the same height and their creamy pale skin were in contrast to the scarlet fluid. But the most glaringly obvious detail about the two bodies was the fact that they were both bisected by a jagged cut. The smaller of the two figures had received a cut that separated her legs from her torso. The bigger form however was lacerated vertically, ropes of pink flesh and lumps of meat spilled onto the ground, adding to the ever growing ocean of gore._

"… _No…No! NononononoNONONONO!" The boy's voice began as a murmur but gradually increased in volume until the boy was howling. His arms were clutching his head and the boy was trying to scrub the image of the two bodies from his mind. The boy's composure rapidly unraveled and all he could do was keep screaming..._

* * *

"NOOOOOOO!" Tatsumi bolted upright, and he tugged his hands to cover his face. Unfortunately for two snoozing sisters, this movement jolted them awake and launched them forward.

"T-Tatsumi?"

"Whaa-HEY!"

The girls said in surprise, wondering what was going on. Their upper bodies were lying beside Tatsumi's thighs. They had been cuddling the boy's adolescent biceps last night and were dragged forward when Tatsumi forcible brought his hands to his head.

"Tatsumi?! Are you alright?" Akame worriedly asked, placing a delicate hand onto his shuddering shoulder.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Kurome asked with equal concern; she sidled up to Tatsumi and looked at him.

He was breathing rapidly and cold sweat made his russet brown hair stick to his fore head. His trembling arms were still grasping his head, as if trying to erase an image from his mind. Overall he didn't look in good physical shape and his mutterings of "I'm fine" weren't reassuring the worried sisters

"Tatsumi please tell us what is bothering you! We want to help!" Akame firmly pleaded with both her eyes and words.

"Yeah Tatsumi, tell us! Even though you're telling us 'you're fine', we can see that you're not fine. We're not stupid you know." Kurome said in a tsundere tone, but even Tatsumi could discern the caring undertone in her voice. After a brief moment he relented.

"…I saw you guys die… I was trying to save you and I couldn't make it in time… There was so much blood" Tatsumi choked out the last bit and buried his head further into his palms.

Akame and Kurome gasped and were stunned into silence, not knowing how to respond to such a statement. There was a terse silence but Kurome bravely spoke up.

"Tatsumi, you're such an idiot." She shook her head exasperatedly "Look, me and sis are going to stay with you for a long time, we're not going anywhere any time soon. We'll be here to annoy you for while so don't even dream of us going away. " She smirked slightly at the end and Akame giggled lightly as well.

"Yes Tatsumi, Kurome is right, you don't have to worry about us, I can hold my own you know. Besides you promised you would protect me and Kurome, so I know that you wouldn't be late to save us." She comforted the distraught boy and patted his back reassuringly.

Tatsumi pulled his hands away from his face and he stared at Akame's dazzling smile. An unknown feeling welled inside of him but he ignored it and decided to stop moping.

"Well, if you put that way…" He laughed softly and ran his hand through his tousled locks "I guess I was worried for nothing. You two can take care of yourselves, I can see that now. I just don't wanna see both of you getting hurt ya know? I care for you two…" He trailed off in embarrassment; his face flushed a color that matched the fire that was burning last night, not meaning to say the last part out loud.

"A-A-Anyway we should start going!" Desperately trying to recover, looking away from the two of them "Hey,… what's that?" He gestured to the small pile of fruit laying a few meters away from the burned out fire.

He had turned around and didn't notice the flaming faces of the two sisters. They didn't know how to react to such a statement and just remained silent. Kurome was staring pointedly at the ground, as trying to will the embarrassment out of her and have it drain into the ground. Akame however, reacted differently, she had a hand placed on her chest, trying to calm her erratically beating heart; her gaze wandered about, refusing to even look in Tatsumi's direction

"Hey, berries?! You left me some, thanks!" Tatsumi quickly rushed over to the pile of food and in wolfed down a mouthful. "Thanks again you two, I guess I forgot to eat dinner yesterday." He grinned delightedly and licked the juice that clung to his fingers, unaware of the state of embarrassment the two girls were in.

"We should get going soon; the camp is just a few hours ahead! We'll be there in no time!" The boy said enthusiastically and glanced back at his two companions. They had luckily recovered enough to reply to his optimistic statement.

"Y-Yeah lets go, cmon sis." She grabbed her sister's hand and tugged her towards Tatsumi. The older sister allowed herself to be dragged, still not looking at the boy.

"Something wrong Akame? " Tatsumi noticed that the girl was looking around and was wondering if she saw something "See anything?"

"N-n-no it's nothing…. Let's just go." Akame stuttered out and hustled forward into a random direction.

"That's not the right direction Akame!" The boy called out. "The camp is this way!" He used his index finger to point where the camp was.

The girl immediately turned rigid and lowered her head in shame once again. Then she robotically pivoted around and went in the direction of Tatsumi's finger.

"Well… lets go then…" Kurome said and went after her sister.

"H-H-Hey guys wait up!" The boy scrambled up and chased after them

* * *

"Ughhhhhhhhh, I haaaaaate walking!" Kurome griped and threw her hands up dramatically. "How much farther Tatsumi?!"

"It shouldn't be much farther Kurome; we'll be there in no time!" Akame tried to placate her sister. She giggled at her sister's antics but none the less agreed with her sibling, it was taking a while to get to the camp.

" If you're so tired, I can carry ya till we get there." Tatsumi jokingly said, but suddenly lurched forward. Luckily the boy was able to regain his footing. Then he yelled at the small form dangling from his shoulders.

"Ack hey! K-Kurome! What are you doing!?" The boy indignantly asked, craning his neck to shout at the young girl.

"Hey you said you'll carry me! Pweatty pweaseeeeee?!" Kurome pleaded with Tatsumi, utilizing her feminine charms to convince the vulnerable boy.

"…" Tatsumi turned away and relented "Fine… Just don't choke me ok!"

"YES!" Kurome cheered flippantly "Onward!" She screamed childishly and pointed forward.

"NOT SO CLOSE TO MY EARS!"

Akame just laughed merrily at the two antics, and walked beside Tatsumi.

After walking for a spell, Tatsumi unexpectedly halted his movements. Akame, who was walking behind Tatsumi, bumped into Kurome's back.

"Hey, why did we stop?" Kurome inquired quizzically asked. She slid down from Tatsumi's back and walked in front of him. Akame mimicked her sister, but was clutching her bruised nose, anime tears pouring out of her eyes. She pouted angrily at the boy, but remained silent

"I almost forgot something! Here, I want you guys to have these" Tatsumi reached inside his cloak and extracted three lustrous objects "These are centipede legs. Here." He held out his open palms but the sisters didn't make a move to accept the boy's gifts.

"Ummmm…. Why would we want centipede legs, they are kinda icky…" She extended her tongue out in childish disgust. Akame politely stayed quite, but she too was apprehensive of touching insect legs.

"Yeah, I know, how do you think I felt when I yanked these out." The boy shuddered at the unpleasant memory

"Anyway, back in my village, the hunters say that the right leg of the seventh pair of legs of a giant centipede bring good luck. They also say they enhance your fighting powers, but I'm not so sure about that." He noticed the Akame and Kurome were still afraid of touching the items and sighed dejectedly.

"Fine… I went through so much trouble to get these for you guys, I even washed them like a gazillion times. Not to mention how long it took me to carve these to a small enough size for me to carry them! These are the reasons why I took so long to come back ya know, the least you can do is take them!" The boy pouted at them disapprovingly, still holding out his 'gifts'.

"Ok… only because you washed these…" Kurome grudgingly snatched one of the charms and shoved it inside her cloak "Happy now?!"

Akame also grabbed a leg, but she observed it more closely. It was curved, like a bird's talon, and glinted in the sun. If Tatsumi didn't say these were legs, the girl would've thought they were rocks of some sort. The leg also felt as tough as a rock, further increasing the similarities.

"Thank you Tatsumi, I'm really happy that you took that much time to get these for us." She gave the boy a radiant smile as thanks.

"W-well, as long as you know… "He ran his fingers through his hair in embarrassment "Hey is that what I think it is?!" He dashed ahead of them suddenly, leaving behind two bewildered siblings.

"Hey wait for us!" They both hollered at the boy in unison, quickly chasing after him.

They only ran for a few moments until the trees that were usually always surrounding them, disappeared. They were at the base of a rather large hill, and two figures were motionlessly standing at the top. Then they noticed Tatsumi, about 3 meters away from them, staring at the two outlines.

"Let's go together guys, follow me." Tatsumi didn't turn to look at them, still watching the forms above him. He waited for the sisters to close the distance between them and then lead the both of them to the top of the mound.

When they got closer to the top, the three could discern more details about the shapes ahead of them. Both of them looked male and one was wearing an odd, glass circle on his left eye. His head had the same sheen as the charms Tatsumi had given them earlier before. The bald man was wearing a grey coat and the collar was standing upright.

The man beside him looked completely different from the first. He looked more normal, wearing a simple white button-up, slate grey pants, and a scarlet scarf that fluttered in the breeze. His sandy yellow tresses reached past his elbows and had some stubble growing on his chin. What was unusual for this seemingly ordinary man was the fact that a red-handled sword rested on his left hip.

"Congratulations are in order for you three passing the examination; you're the first to arrive. Go on ahead and receive treatment for any and all wounds you have sustained." The hairless man's voice was gravelly, as if he eats pulverized rocks for breakfast. The blonde man remained silent as well as the trio, then Tatsumi walked past them with Akame and Kurome in tow.

Once the three passed the swordsman, the monocle wearing man spoke up "It seems that the two sisters have teamed up with that young boy… Interesting, what will you do?"

The man in the scarf clutched his chin in thought for a moment "Well I'll split up the siblings, I can't have them relying on one another."

"But what of the boy, the same can be said for him."

"Well, you're correct on that, but I can sense an immense amount of potential in the lad, it would be a waste to not cultivate that talent, wouldn't you say?" The blonde man replied cheekily

"Yes, I also drew that conclusion as well. Do as you wish, you're the one training them after all." The bald man chuckled roughly and looked over the forest once more.

* * *

"You cannot go with these two, there is a separate tent for boys. Please make your way there." One guard was preventing Tatsumi passage. Kurome and Akame had already entered and were trying to convince the sentries to let him in.

"Hey let hi-." Kurome was about to protest loudly but was interrupted by Tatsumi.

"It's okay, if that's the case ill head over there now. Don't worry guys, once I'm patched up, I'll come and visit okay!" The boy smiled reassuringly and then disappeared from the sisters' line of sight.

Once the two had been patched up, they sat across from each other and just rested their fatigued bodies.

"Do you think we'll see Tatsumi again?" Kurome asked her big sis worriedly

"He should be coming over soon." Akame responded soothingly. Then they heard footsteps. "That might be Tatsumi!"

The two girls prepared shouts of greetings but those died in their throats when the flaps of the medical tent were opened. Standing in the entrance was not a young boy with bottle-green eyes and an infectious smile; instead it was the swordsman with the red scarf.

"The results of the exam have just arrived, Akame and Kurome, you're both ranked seventh and eighth, respectively." The man paused briefly "You two will now begin your training… separately." The swordsman grinned evilly at the end.

"No! Where ever Kurome is going, I'm going with her!" Akame protectively clutched her younger sister.

"Big sis…. Don't let them take me…" Then the blonde man snapped his fingers, and suddenly the two guards that were outside, forcibly restrained and separated the two family members.

"NOO! Let her go! KUROME!" Akame desperately tried to free herself, but the man's hold on her constricted her too much and she couldn't move an inch.

"Big sis! BIG SIS! HEEELP!" Kurome stretched out her arms towards her sister, calling out in fear.

"Render them unconscious, but don't hurt them, or else…" The scarf man said threateningly to the guards and then exited the tent.

"No…. Let me…. Go… Please!" Akame weakly clawed at the guards forearms, but it didn't lessen the growing pressure around her neck. She lifted a trembling arm towards Kurome and tried to grasp her hands. But then her brain shut down and her vision went pitch black.

* * *

"The results have been received and you have been ranked number one for this examination. Well done, now please follow me." The swordsman gestured towards the entrance of the tent, waiting for the boy. His request seemed less like an request to the bot and more of an order

Tatsumi was against that idea, but his instinct's screamed at him to follow the man's command . He nodded slowly and hopped off the bed he was resting on, and then he walked out of the tent with the blonde haired man. Tatsumi was lead to an plain wagon and was ordered to get in the back. The boy complied silently and once he got on board, the wagon lurched into motion.

Tatsumi glanced around the dimly lit wagon, trying to keep himself together and then he saw a dark lump on the ground. He strode over to the mass and then noticed a familiar face. He scooped up the body and cradled it in his arms

"Akame, oh gosh, Akame!" The boy cried out, shaking the girl "Akame wake up! Please!" His breathing was now frantic, and a cold sense of dread crept up along his back.

Then he saw Akame's eyes fluttering, relieve spreading throughout his body and he sighed out. Once she seemed conscious Tatsumi spoke to her "Hey Akame, are you alright? You scared me there, I thought something happened to you!"

"Tatsumi? Where are we? What happened?" Akame asked, still regaining her bearings. She held a palm up to her eye, trying to quell a raging headache.

"We're in a wagon but I don't know where it's going, as for what happened… I would like to know that as well…" Tatsumi then noticed something strange "Hey Akame… Where's Kurome? Shouldn't she be with you?"

Akame breathed hitched and her whole body tensed up. She was silent for a moment, and then she buried her face into his cloak and wailed in agony. She clutched his coat tightly and she balled up.

Tatsumi was extremely confused, why was Akame crying and where the heck is Kurome, and then realization slammed itself into his mind and regret flooded his form. He now knew why the girl in his arms was so upset: Kurome was taken somewhere else.

Then another revelation hit him: This was the second time he made Akame cry…

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

 **Disclaimer, don't own AGK**

 **AN: God damn! Sorry for the delay on this update, I decided to take the weekend off and then got super distracted Monday. I'm just glad I got this baby out and rolling. Lemme know what you think of this chapter in the reviews, pretty please? Might make me update faster~**

 **Also thank you godbob,Personas,Firedragon, and Sentinal for the generous reviews and I hope you will have another coming my way for this one : )**

 **Stay classy~**

 **Shootingmavi**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Revised Beginning 5**_

* **8 Years Later***

She was in a clearing, lying on the rock-strewn ground. The edges of the pebbles were uncomfortably poking into her back, but she was used to the unpleasant feeling. Her willowy arms were shading her face, trying to block the sun.

"A dream from the past…" She mumbled softly, "It was a good nap!" She slowly pulled her body up from the stony ground. She then extended her arms above her head and yawned loudly, removing the stiffness in her arms.

It was a luminous day, the sunlight clouds drifting across the azure blue sky. The temperature was mild, neither hot nor cold and she had enjoyed it immensely. So much so she had dozed off! The clearing she was in wasn't spacious, the circumference only being about 5 meters. The rocky outcroppings inside the space had been heated due to the constant stream of sunlight and were warm to her touch. The vibrant green hue of the tree leaves displayed to the world how healthy and well the trees were doing.

'Ah! There is no time for sight- seeing! I have to get to work!' She snapped out of her daze and twisted clockwise. She then tensed her leg-muscles and bolted out of the clearing. Her dress fluttered behind her, still pristine even after napping on the ground. It was a two-tone dress that barely covered her creamy thighs, wine-red outlining the edges of the cloth and white filling in the space. Her elbow-length gloves followed the same pattern. She was also wearing opaque black stockings and her shoes were of the same color, they were in contrast with the paleness of both her dress and stockings.

She had ran for about 10 minutes and at a grueling pace, all without breaking a sweat; a testament on how physically capable she was. When she finally stopped sprinting, she was on a small mound that overlooked a village. The quaint hamlet was extremely plain. Shades of dull reds and lackluster greys colored the settlement's buildings, nothing standing out. The settlement was surrounded by spires of stone and rocky plateaus. It was also encircled by a dense forest, the one she just came out of.

'Almost there! Hopefully he won't be too mad!' She thought hopefully and started to dash once again.

It took her five more minutes to reach the village and she was starting to panic at how furious _he_ would be… She shuddered and cranked up her already absurd speed. Her feet thudded against the worn cobble stone that paved the road, trying her best to avoid crashing into the other pedestrians. The people in this settlement made up for the dreary setting with their lively attitude. Children ran around jubilantly, playing games such as tag and hide and seek. Men showed their craft, advertising their products and trying to attract customers. Women strode around the street hurriedly, either trying to finishing their daily chores or shopping at one of the merchant stalls.

Then she saw a tremendously lengthy line, the civilians clamoring at how long it will take. The girl's stomach plummeted and a gloomy aura encircled her, knowing she was in massive trouble. But she diligently carried on, just hoping that she would be forgiven. She strode past the front of the line and stopped in front of a wooden building. The scent of fried food was wafting from within, and Akame's mouth watered at the smell. The shop's front was similar to a merchant's stall, but inside there was a back room chock-full of cooking appliances. There was even a window on the back wall, so that food can just be left on the counter of the window once it was done cooking.

" **AKAME! YOU'RE LATE**!" A voice bellowed from within. Then a set of footsteps echoed out a few seconds later, the wooden floor creaking. "Where were you?!"

An irritated young man stepped out of the stall, grasping a chef's knife tightly. He had the other hand placed on his hip. His russet brown mane covered his forehead and a single cowlick extended out from his crown. His viridian eyes squinted harshly at her, conveying his displeasure. He was wearing dirtied cooking apron over his khaki colored vest. The girl couldn't tell at this distance, but if she were to walk up to the boy and stand near him, she would have to look up a bit to look at his eyes.

"I-I-I was…" She bit her lip and bowed her head, her face scarlet. "I was sleeping." She whispered out apologetically.

The teen sighed and shook his head sadly "I'll chew you out later, but for now, take the orders! We're swamped!" His voice faded out at the end, his body disappearing into the back of the stall.

"Okay Tatsumi!" She lithely launched herself over the stall's counter and took her position. "Welcome to _Killer Meals_ , what will you be having today Sam?" She flashed the costumer a brilliantly grin.

"Ahaha, in trouble with the boss again eh, Akame? I'll take Dragon meals set please." A pot-bellied man chuckled, extending a meaty hand. His greying hair was in a comb over and his clothes were rather luxurious; a two piece suite that was bulging, trying to contain his belly.

"Yeah, I'm glad he went easy on me!" She replied, taking the money from the man's hand. Making sure she counted the currency right she hollered to the back of the stall, "One Dragon Tatsumi!"

Almost immediately a tray of food appeared on windowsill and Akame grabbed the plate and handed it to the costumer.

"Thank you for your patronage!" She smiled energetically and waved good bye.

"I'll come back tomorrow! This is the best joint in town!" Sam said through a mouthful of food.

The rush hour was finally over; Akame exhaustedly slumped over the counter and moaned piteously. Her feet hurt from scurrying around the shop and she wished they had put a chair or two in the stall. But a bottle thumped onto the counter, next to her head. She lifted her head up to see bottle-green eyes staring at her. The boy had discarded his apron and was just wearing his trademark vest and ordinary black pants.

"Drink up, it's good." He grinned boyishly, then taking a swig from his own bottle.

"Thank you, Tatsumi." Akame flashed him a smile of gratitude and turned back to her bottle.

Condensation clung to the surface of the glass and some drops rolled down the side. Akame reached out with a slender hand to grasp the bottle, and when she did, she was shocked to feel how chilly it was. She glanced at Tatsumi with surprise and he just gestured to her to drink it. Akame brought the bottle to her lips and let the liquid spill into her mouth. Her first thought was that it was very sweet and her second thought was that it was refreshing. She proceeded to chug the whole thing in one swig, making audible gulping sounds.

"Whoa, must be thirsty huh? You like it?" Tatsumi smirked knowingly at the girl.

*BURP* A unfeminine sound resounded throughout the stall. "Excuse me!" Akame flushed crimson slightly "Um, Tatsumi? What was that drink?" She asked curiously

"No idea, Martha gave it to me and told me to share it with you. Want to go ask her?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of the village.

"Yeah, I would like to go see Martha! Maybe she'll have some meat for me." She said with vigor. "Let's hurry Tatsumi!" She grabbed his hand gently and then forcibly tugged him out of the food stall and into the street.

"Ack! W-wa- Wait Akame! H-hold on! Whoa!" Tatsumi was stumbling and stuttering behind her, desperately tried to maintain his balance.

After a few harrowing moments of near wipeouts and dodging pedestrians, both of the teens had stopped in front of an inn. Akame and Tatsumi both paused for moment, trying to regain their breath. Then they both realized that Akame still was holding Tatsumi's in a delicate grip. The two teens stared at their hands for a second and then looked up at each other. Blood quickly rose to their faces and they snapped their hands back to their sides.

"U-u-um, I-I-Im, That's-!"

"A-Akame! Err uh, gah-!"

The two stammered out quickly, trying to recover from the moment of embarrassment. Then the door of the inn burst open, revealing a women that looked to be around the age of her late 20's to early 30's. She had a plain white button-up and wore a slate colored apron. The woman had her lustrous, ink-black hair tied up in a long ponytail and its length reached to her lower back. But what really made her a beautiful women, was her cognac colored eyes. They radiated such warmth and vibrancy that most men actually looked at her eyes, instead of her sizable bust.

"Well, well! What do we have here~!" The older women smirked teasingly and bent over slightly. She wagged her index finger in a playful manned. "Why do I find two love birds standing in front of my doorstep?"

"M-martha! W-w-we aren't-!"

"Y-y-yeah, t-this isn't-!"

The two teens flushed faces burned an even brighter shade of red, and they both fumbled over their words trying to deny Martha's claim.

"Bwahaha!" The women was clutching was her sides and howled with mirth "The look on your faces! Hahaha" She enjoyed it so much, that tears started to squeeze out of her eyes.

"MARTHA!" The two youths cried out in indignation, trying to get her to stop.

"Fineeee~!" She dragged the word out and ruffled the hair of the two teenagers in front of her." Let a woman get her fun every once and a while will ya?"

Akame and Tatsumi pouted angrily but remained silent.

"Well come on in, let's see if I have any meat left over~." Martha turned around and skipped inside the inn.

"MEAT?!" Akame shouted out in glee, already dashing after the woman. Tatsumi still stood at the front of inn, dazed by how fast Akame can really be. He soon snapped out of it and stepped inside the building. The inn possessed a cozy atmosphere, the stone fire place warming the air inside. The wooden tables and chairs looked worn but well maintained.

"Aha! Looks like I had some steaks left over, but you'll take care of that, won't you Akame?" Martha looked at the young girl and grinned knowingly.

Akame just nodded vigorously, somehow magically holding a fork and knife set, eager to dig in. Her eyes were glazed over, as if thinking about nothing but devouring meat.

"Well, dig in~!" Martha slammed the plate full of meat onto the table.

"Thank you!" Akame said gratefully and carved into her meal. In mere moment, the small pile of steaks had been reduced to a few blackened bones.

"Here, use this" Tatsumi produced a small black handkerchief and held it out to Akame.

"Aww! How sweet~!" The innkeeper clasped her hands near her face and smiled teasingly.

Tatsumi just shook his head in exasperation but didn't respond, still holding out the piece of cloth.

"Thank you Tatsumi." Akame thanked the boy and took the handkerchief from his hand. She wiped the remaining crumbs from her mouth and handed the fabric back to its owner.

"Hey, Martha can we ask you something?" Tatsumi said while putting the handkerchief back into his pocket "What were those drinks you gave us?"

"Ah, those drinks I gave you earlier this morning? I think the merchant called them 'soft drinks'" She made quotations with her hands "Weren't they tasty?"

"They were really…" Akame struggled to find the right words "Bubbly? But yes they were delightful."

"Glad you liked 'em! They were worth quite a pretty penny you know." Martha joked "Got anything for me?"

"How about fixing all these chairs and tables for you, for free? Or how about all those ingredients we gathered for you?" Tatsumi pointed out "Let's just call it even."

"Hrmph, your no fun Tatsumi!" Martha pinched his cheeks roughly, but agreed to the arrangement.

"Though…" The women placed a slender finger on her chin thoughtfully "Maybe I should give Akame a little something as thanks! Come!" Martha grabbed the young girls hand and lead her upstairs.

"Hey! What about-!" But the two ladies had already disappeared "Me… MAN! I wanted something too…" Tatsumi crossed his arms across his chest and scowled irritably. However he stayed downstairs and waited for the two females to return.

The large thumping noise in the staircase was what alerted Tatsumi of their return. Martha was the first to appear and Tatsumi asked the obvious question wordlessly 'Where is she?' The women sighed and shook her head.

"Akame! Get down here!" She had twisted around and hollered behind her "There's nothing to worry about! You're fine!"

"B-B-But… It's embarrassing!" A faint voice called from the upper floor.

"You're beautiful darling! Just come down here!" Martha coaxed the young girl.

"F-fine…" Akame relented and trudged down the stairwell, her footsteps were softer than Martha's.

Once Akame stepped down, Tatsumi was dumbfounded. She was wearing a ridiculously frilly dress and looked very uncomfortable in it. The dress was like freshly laid snow, pure white. There were ruffles on her shoulders and at the end of her dress. They fluttered with the smallest shuffle of Akame's body and looked to be made out of very thin material. Stripes ran vertically in the middle of the dress, but where interrupted by cords of string that laced up her stomach. The biggest detail though, it barely reached her thighs and showed a sinful amount of her supple legs. Overall, it looked like the dress of an aristocrat who was trying to seduce her love interest, and contrasted with Akame's identity.

"So Tatsumi" Martha flashed the boy a Cheshire -like grin "As the only man here, what do you think of Akame in this dress" Both of the females stared at Tatsumi, Martha was trying to suppress her ever-growing happiness and Akame was shyly looking at him waiting for his opinion. Akame was extremely embarrassed at the situation, but she was curious on what Tatsumi thought of her in the dress.

"U-U-Um!" The boy was thrown off by the situation and stumbled through his speech "I-I think it's a very beautiful dress! But…" His thoughts dawdled at the end and he couldn't think of the correct words to express his opinion.

"Well, but what? That's not a complete answer." Martha teasingly coaxed the boy's answer out. Akame blushed at the compliments but her eyes were imploring for him to finish his sentence.

"But, it doesn't really suite Akame… I mean, I think it's too excessive! I think the dress is very pretty and it looks good on her, but Akame's previous set of clothing was better suited for her!" He waved his hands defensibly in front of him, afraid of offending the girl in question.

"Hrm… I think your right Tatsumi! It's a very pretty dress, that's why I bought it, but Akame's previous outfit was already what she looked best in!" Martha agreed jubilantly and so did Akame, satisfied with the boy's answer.

"If you think so, I'll go back and change." She retreated back up stairs. Her call of thanks was barely heard by the two people downstairs, muffled by the distance.

Tatsumi exhaled in relieve and slumped over. His heart was beating faster than normal and he had no clue why. Once he calmed down, he asked the woman beside him a question.

" Hey, Martha?" Said woman turned to look at him, immaculate eyebrows raised in confusion "Where's Sarah? Is she not working today?"

Sarah was a young orphan around 7 years old, but the girl didn't remember her own birthday. She was adopted by the generous Martha when the woman found her picking through the inn's garbage. Sarah's parents died 3 years ago and only managed to scrap by living as a street urchin. Tatsumi had met Sarah when Martha decided to introduce the two and the boy instantly took a liking to the young girl, treating her as if Sarah was his younger sister. Tatsumi would enjoy spending his free time with the young girl, playing with her and escorting her around town to see the sights.

"Sarah? Oh, she wanted to take a day off today. She said she was not feeling too well and I suggested she stay at home for once. She is such a hard worker, but sometimes she takes it too far you know?" Martha's face was pulled into a worried one and her tone also indicated her concern over the girl.

"That's sad to hear… I'll make sure to visit her tomorrow. Maybe get her some confection." Tatsumi said.

" OH NO!" The boy suddenly cried out and then ran to the bottom of the stair case. "AKAME GET DOWN HERE, WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR TRAINING!" He frantically shouted up the stairwell.

"Coming!" Akame's voice called out, hurried footsteps thumped upstairs. Once she arrived downstairs, they threw a quick goodbye to Martha and then ran towards the training grounds.

 _ **The Next Day**_

"All the preparations have been made and it is now time for all of you to complete your first official mission!" A familiar blonde-haired, scarf-wearing swordsman thundered out from the top of the staircase. Gozuki extended his arms outward and had his palms facing the Elite 8.

"Father is that true? Then that means-!" A honey blonde girl said in astonishment. She wore a basic white shirt and dark grey pants. Her indigo blue eyes were open wide in astonishment and her mouth was agape. Silver loops hung from her ears and swayed side to side when she moved. She was one of the tallest of the group, standing above everyone except for a slate haired boy and another boy.

The ashy haired boy was in a uniform usually seen in the military. The outfit's epaulettes ( Shoulder pads ) matched his citrine yellow eyes. Bronzy yellow outlined the outfit and the boy wore an azure tie around his neck. He was nonchalantly leaning against a wall in the back, seemingly unfazed by the event. Most of the group called him 'chief' but his name was Najasho.

"Alright" A young man slammed a calloused palm into his knuckles excitedly. His mouth was pulled into a cocky smirk and exposed his canine teeth. His tawny yellow eyes gleamed with excitement and determination. A notable feature of the boy was that his face was marred with jagged lines, giving him a rugged look. He was a giant compared to the rest of the Elite eight and easily dwarfed those around him. His russet brown mane was in a dire need of a haircut, but somehow the boy managed to make it look good on him. His white shirt was wrinkled and had its collar popped, covering the teen's neck. He had a beige vest over the unkempt shirt and the vest was sewn with an absurd amount of pockets. His ordinary black pants were in the same condition as his shirt, but the pants looked to be clean and had no visible stains on them. His name was Gai and was openly perverted, but none of the girls in the group exactly hated him for it.

An auburn haired girl besides Gai showed similar excitement, pumping her fists fiercely and shouting a loud "Yeah!" Her name was Poney and she was wearing a black tank top and figure-hugging latex pants. Her chestnut brown hair was pulled into a simple ponytail and she used hairclips to hold up her bangs. She was lithely built and slightly shorter than the rest. Her lime green eyes showed extreme eagerness to get on this mission. A notable detail about Poney was that she preferred going outside barefooted, claiming they "Give her better traction."

The other two members of the Elite eight were more nervous at the thought of their first mission. A flaxen blonde haired girl stood nervously next to an equally anxious onyx haired boy. The female teen's hair was framed around her petit face and a cowlick hung from the top of her crown .The girl's peach colored dress had ruffles on the sleeves and on the collar and was grayish in hue. A black corset was buttoned up around her lower chest and on her stomach. The dress ended at around her mid-thigh allowing easy movement, but garnering the attention of most men. Her name was Tsukushi and the Elite eight adored her ever present cheerfulness

The wiry boy was fingering his steel glasses nervously, and his gunmetal-blue eyes darted nervously behind the frames. The boy wore strange amulet around his neck, its' shape was of an oval and the amethyst surface reflected the scarce sunlight coming through the building's windows. His name was Green, but nobody knew why, no part of the boy was colored green and he himself said that he disliked the color.

Tatsumi himself was also astonished at the news, but was prepared to handle whatever Gozuki threw at him. He was standing next to Akame and she also seemed resolute to complete his mission. Tatsumi took a steading breath and then looked stonily forward, readying himself for his mission.

But little did he know that the cogs of Fate began to turn….

 _ **To Be Continued**_

 **AN: Goddamn! I took a while to get this out, for that I apologize. The descriptions of the characters I felt were too long, but some of you asked for more details so I obliged. Let me know what you think in the reviews. Also sorry for the filler chapter, the next one will be more exciting. But until then**

 **Stay classy~!**

 **Shootinmavi**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Revised Beginning 6**_

Syringes filled with mysterious liquids.

The Room filled with steely machines.

The incessant beeping noise that the machines produced filled the area.

Lights above her head were beaming their harsh light unto her face.

This was her life and this is all she knew. The girl couldn't remember the warmth of the sun, the lusciousness of the trees, or even the caress of the wind. It was just her and her bleak routine. The bald man would retrieve her from a holding cell, lead her through desolate hallways, and then guide her into The Room.

There she would be laid out on a uncomfortable table of stone and have her limbs restrained by the bald man's assistants. Next the white clothed assistants would insert the needles into her body. Lastly the drugs would overcome her conscious and she would close her eyes, only for the whole process to start anew.

But she did remember a few things: A boy with lively viridian eyes and a girl with onyx black hair. And the thing that cemented the memory of the two people in her mind, was something she guarded fiercely

A crescent-shaped pendant hung around her neck, a slim thread threaded through a hole on the top of it. It reflected the fluorescent lights that emanated from the ceiling, and it rose and fell in synch with her breathing. It was a charm that was said to give the favor of Lady Luck to whoever bore the pendant. It was carved meticulously by an amateur, yet it was priceless in her mind. The amulet was made out of a leg of a giant centipede, the seventh leg to be exact. The girl wouldn't let anyone go near it, not even the bald man. She was allowed to keep it in her possession because it was too blunt to be considered a weapon and too insignificant for the man to care about it.

The girl had been strapped in by the nurses; coarse leather connected her slender limbs to the stony table. Then a sterile needle pierced her pale skin and injected its contents into her blood steam. The concoction made her drowsy and as the last scraps of conscious left her body, she thought of the boy and girl.

"Tatsumi… Sis…Please don't forget me…"

* * *

The crescent moon reflected light brightly, bathing the earth's surface in it's pale brilliance. The quant village was slumbering, its residents readying themselves for their sleep. None of the citizens were walking the streets, knowing there were many perils prowling the streets during the twilight hours. But there were a few who had the audacity to be outside this late, primarily a young man.

He was underneath the newly built _Kalayaan_ Bridge, which connected the residential area with the commercial district. It was also a way to get over a fairly large river passing through, which was also how farmers irrigated their crops and how the women washed the family's clothes. The teen was strolling across the bridge, casually making his way to his destination; a brown travelers cloak was, trailing behind him. To a bystander's viewpoint, this figure would be quite ominous and intimidating. The traveler, however, had good intentions this night, for he had a sizable amount of sweets to deliver.

"Hopefully Sarah won't mind me coming this late, then again she'll be distracted by the candy I'll be giving her." Tatsumi chuckled knowingly and he checked his pockets for the umpteenth time, not wanting to lose his 'package'. "Definitely should hurry though, gotta job to do…"

So Tatsumi utilized his excellent athleticism he gained from his training to go from a casual stroll to a brisk walk. After a few minutes had passed he had arrived on Avalon Groove, a cozy square which was inhabited by those who were able to afford a slightly more comfortable lifestyle than the rest of the population. Avalon Groove 's width was roughly a mile, so it was quite large in comparison to the rest of the town. The square had a well in the middle of it which had a diameter comparable to Tatsumi's armspan. Patches of weeds and grass were sprouting from the spaces between the square tiles which Tatsumi estimated to be around 3ft by 3ft. He also couldn't describe the colour of the tiles for they seemed to kaleidoscope and change shade in the moonlight. Overall Tatsumi was happy he was able to afford a building in such a nice area, for he was worried the income coming from _**Killer Meals**_ couldn't cover the rent, luckily he was great chief and a vast amount of people came to his restaurant.

He bought the 2 story, stony cabin because he wanted to give back to Martha who had always been kind to him and the rest of the assassins, so when he had discovered the… uncomfortable conditions she was previously living in, well he had finally figured out a way to reciprocate Martha's generosity. But Martha wasn't the only inhabitant of the building and that other resident was why Tatsumi had made his late night journey. The problem was… he didn't have a key to the building.

"Damn, I knew I should've had the smith make another key for me" Tatsumi mentally slapped his forehead. He walked up to the building and scanned the apartment for an entrance, which manifested itself as an open window on the second floor. "I hope I don't fall… Can't fight with a broken back after all."

But Tatsumi wasn't actually worried, he had scaled taller buildings before and the front of the building was riddled with crevices and ledges of which he can hold onto. Tatsumi stepped back a few paces and then ran towards the apartment. He nimbly grasped onto a stone block which was protruding out from the rest of the wall.

"The Stonemason clearly was careless in his placing…" He muttered to himself but quickly focusing on not plummeting back to the surface

In a few short leaps and grasps, Tatsumi lithely hurdled through the open window and landed inside the building, not unlike a cat. The teen straighten his posture to full height and brushed his hands together, mentally congratulating himself for his successful climb. He then realized in which room he had entered.

"Oh, this is Sarah's room. How convenient!" Tatsumi kept his voice at whisper volume though due to the fact that the girl whose room he was in was slumbering in her bed. Sarah's room was fairly modest, only able to fit her bed to the right and a two door closet to the left. The open window was opposite the door and Tatsumi approximated it would only take him 8 paces to reach said door from where he was standing, so the room was fairly small. Still Sarah was able to make use of the small space by putting various decorations on the wall closest to her bed. Many of them were childish doodles of random things Sarah decided to draw, but it was clear that Sarah had an affinity for drawing and in a few years she would be extremely proficient in creating lifelike sketches. But the one legitimate photo Sarah owned was her Tatsumi and Martha standing in front of the _**Killer Meals**_ **restaurant** during its grand opening.

Sarah was standing between Tatsumi and Martha and she was sporting the biggest grin she could muster. Sarah's hands looked to be firmly at her sides and the comical contrast between her stern soldier's posture and the wide childish grin on Sarah's face brought a smile on Tatsumi's face. Sarah was wearing a similar outfit to Martha, a white long-sleeved button up and an apron like dress. But instead of Martha's usual black color, Sarah opted for an emerald green color, which, in Tatsumi's amateur opinion, matched really well with Sarah's flaxen blonde hair, which was woven into a French braid and draped over her left shoulder. Also in Tatsumi opinion, the most notable thing about her would be Sarah's eyes, which were an unnatural shade for human eyes to be, purple. Overall, Sarah was is and will be a very beautiful girl, but Tatsumi refrained from voicing that particular opinion due to the fact Sarah was only eight and that she looked up to Tatsumi as a role model, thus making it creepy.

To further describe Sarah, Tatsumi would label her as a bold idealist. The reason for this, Sarah is extremely altruistic. Sarah consistently takes the scraps that are made in the kitchen that she and Martha work at and gives them to anyone that she thinks could use a meal. Sarah was also very willing to fight those that would take advantage of those who were unable to defend themselves. In other words, she detested bullies.

* * *

There was one time, just shortly after one of her 'Charity runs', where Sarah had spotted a male teen, which was so scrawny it seemed that the boy hadn't had a decent meal since his conception. The 'twig', which Sarah sourly labeled the teen, was attempting to impose his greater height upon a child a good few years his junior. The child was clutching a small pouch made of rough canvas with both of his shaking hands. Judging from sordid state of both their clothes and bodies both of them weren't well off to begin with, so the child was most likely traveling to the market to purchase whatever food he can with the meager income his parents made. But the child was too careless of his surroundings and soon found himself being accosted by an older boy. Sarah linked the victim to the image of a leaf, unable to stop itself from trembling in the face of the smallest breeze. So Sarah did the most logical thing to do in that situation, she ran towards the would-be robber and 'kindly' shoved him into pool of stagnant water. Then she hurriedly clasped the leaf's and dragged the boy away from the scene of the crime. The duo ran for quite a bit, and they ducked and weaved in between crowds, to ensure the twig would not be able to pursue them. Once Sarah was confidant they had lost the robber she allowed them to catch their breath between some alley.

"T-t-thank you so m-much miss…" Even the child voice wavered; this leaf was living up to his nickname.

"Call me Sarah… You should be more careful kid, I won't always be there to bail out ya know" She lightly chastised the stranger, though not overly stern, it was enough to get her point across.

"Y-Yeah… I don't wanna think what would've happened if you hadn't showed up…" The boy's voice grew more firm the longer he spoke, showing he had calmed down a bit. He brought his canvas pouch closer to his chest, having miraculously able to keep a hold on it throughout the getaway.

"Hmm." Sarah gave a hum of acknowledgement "Well after what just happened, I need some candy. Take care of yourself." So Sarah left the boy in the alley, knowing he was close to his destination anyway and there was little threat he would get robbed in the middle of the day.

* * *

Tatsumi could not deny that Sarah was brave, her rescue of the boy was prove of that, but he wished she wasn't so reckless, for Tatsumi wants nothing more from Sarah then for her to be happy and safe. A light that could not be snuffed out, no matter what.

"Big…. Bro…? What are you doing…?" Sarah was interrupted by a yawn "…Here?" She raised her upper body and was drowsily rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her rosy pink night gown.

"Oh, Sarah! I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you" Tatsumi whispered apologetically, while he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He must have been reminiscing longer than necessary.

"Well, why DID you come here? It's like… super late" Sarah was surprisingly cognizant for someone who had just woken up, maybe due to her rough upbringing and needing to be at the ready all the time.

In response, Tatsumi grinned and handed her the candy he was delivering. "Thought you'd like these, the confectioner called them 'Peppermints', try 'em."

"Wow, really?! Thanks Tatsumi." She swiped the bag out of the assassin's hands and began to devour the mints, not unlike a certain red eyed friend of Tatsumi's. "Even though they do taste weird, they're not bad... I apresh- I mean aprek-URGH!" Tatsumi managed to suppress a laugh at Sarah's attempts, but couldn't stop a grin from making its appearance. "Whatever! I'm glad you brought these stupid candies!" She grumpily huffed out a heated breath and crossed her arms.

"Aww don't be like that~ "Tatsumi playfully teased Sarah, tousling her tresses, knowing she hated it when he does that. " It's only cause I'm leaving and going to be gone for a while, that I decided to get you anything in the first place."

Sarah's expression became even more serious, and her back went ram rod rigid. "But you'll come back… Right? Big bro… you're not going away forever right?" Her voice's tone conveyed her concern more than her words did, and her lips trembled slightly. Sarah couldn't bear the thought of Tatsumi leaving her.

"Of course I'm not going away forever you dunce!" He flicked Sarah's forehead, causing her hands to clutch the sore spot and her violet eyes to well up in righteos fury. These two things in combination with her sour pout, was almost too cute, but Tatsumi knew that he had to comfort her, before she really started crying. "Look, I'm not going to be for long! It'll probably take me 1- 2 days tops! You won't even know I'm gone okay Sarah? Look, I'll bring you even more candy when I come home, to make up for flicking you. That sounds good to you?"

Sarah didn't reply, instead she buried her face into Tatsumi's cloak, and made a nodding motion with her head. Tatsumi could feel water seeping into the fabric of his cloak and the shuddering gasps coming from Sarah as she tried to contain herself. She never liked anyone seeing her cry. "Just whatever you do, stay safe big bro…" Her mumbled plea was met with Tatsumi stroking her back affectionately, trying to placate the weeping child.

The two of them stayed like until Sarah's cries returned to the subdued breaths that were there before Tatsumi had entered her window. The assassin gently repositioned the blonde into a more comfortable position on her bed, and pulled the blanket back around her small body.

Tatsumi wished he didn't have to make Sarah sad, but he must do what he must. Another wish Tatsumi had for Sarah, was for her to never ever turn into the monster that he had become.

The assassin departed from the young girl's room, the only evidence of his visit, was the bag of mints resting alongside the flaxen haired girl.

 **Suh dudes and dudettes, I'm back from the dead. It's a bit shorter than usual and basically filler too… I felt like I could've done better with the description of the square but whatever.**


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